Ages for weaning

[InConstantNeedOfAGin]

I have contrasting opinions on the best age to start trying DD on other foods than baby milk. One HV says 6 months, midwife says certain things can be tried aldrin 4 months. And it's all a lot of talk due to kids having allergies.
When did you start trying your DC on jars/puréed foods??

Its best to wait six months. Its to do with their stomach being ready for solids although some babies with reflux benefit from starting earlier to keep their milk down but this is from medical advice. You don't need to puree - vegetable sticks are nice you could steam carrots cut into chips. When i was weaning dd i would give her melon sticks from the fridge too as it was nice on her gums

Saying that i did have ellas pouches for when i was in a hurry and would give dd bread cut into strips to dip in. Crusty bread seemed better for her, normal hovis type bread was just rammed into her mouth and she would spit out a bread ball

Dd 21 it was 4 months but no way she would eat anything at that age

Ds 16 was 6 months and tbh I started feeding him then because I hadn’t realised the guidelines had changed he took to it like a duck to water

WHO advice is, I think, 4-6 months and not before 4 months. In the UK that is usually interpreted as not before 6 months; in some other countries (Sweden, for instance), the advice is still given as 4-6 months, which is how it used to be here.

Partly, it is to do with what you actually mean by weaning. When my dc were little "trying other food" might mean a tiny amount of baby rice or mashed spud mixed up with the milk and the whole process was very drawn-out. Now, with the emphasis on BLW, it tends to mean the kind of "eating a whole piece of hand-held veg", which is probably the stage we would have got to by 6 months.

For most babies, introducing some foods before 6 months probably does no harm, but equally delaying does no harm either.

There is no need for using jars or puree, but equally they do no harm if you happen to find it convenient. Letting a 6mo baby explore at least some of their food on their own is almost certainly beneficial- but most of us probably did that anyway, without calling it BLW.

I only ask because she is 4 months and I wanted to try and get her used to different flavours. Like maybe start on baby porridge, or a crushed up risk mixed with her milk in the mornings, so she is used to different tastes. I just hate people telling me not to incase she "has an allergy" .... finger foods etc I would obviously wait until she is at least 6 months, but some puréed veg or fruit can't do her any harm at 4 months, surely. I'm a FTM so this is all very new to me!

The main concerns relating to early weaning are choking risk and their stomachs not being ready to digest food so risk of constipation etc.

Rusk have lots of sugar in them.

What's the rush? If your baby is gaining weight and happy on milk, wait until 6 months.

Why does she need new flavours now? They'll taste the same in 2 months, she's no more or less likely to be fussy if you wait and her gut will be more mature.

Read up on the virgin gut and try to avoid all those over processed things like rusks and baby rice. They have no nutritional value and they are pretty gross. I think 6m is the very earliest you should try, there is no rush.

There's a lot of reasons for NOT weaning before 6 months, head control, choking, digestive maturity and potential for allergic reactions are just some of them. HV don't advise it for the hell of it, this has been researched to death and advice is a best guide unless advised by a paediatric dietician. Why the rush?

You should look for signs of readiness - being able to sit confidently & unsupported, good hand eye co-ordination, baby is showing interest in your food (trying to take food off your plate for example) and the tongue push reflex has gone.

Guidance suggests that you don't start before 4 months, but most babies are ready by 6 months although waiting longer is no problem, food before 1 is for fun.

As PP hace said, baby rice has zero nutritional content and rusks are FULL of sugar. If you are insistent on starting, try some root veg like sweet potato or carrot. Puree or steamed and baby led, your choice, but baby must be sat up and you never leave a baby alone whilst eating.

I'm in America. Paediatrician said guidelines are 4 months but no rush for 99% of DC and 6 months is better for 99% of babies. Our kids doctor also had them on formula or breast milk and taking probiotics until they were 2.

DT ‘s weaned from six months. Didn’t give them baby rice or rusks but finger food and mashed up whatever we were having - shepherds pie and apple crumble were favourites. I didn’t wean them any earlier as they weren’t interested in food or sitting up well enough.

We were advised by the HV to early wean at 5 months due to reflux, but my DD struggled as she wasn't ready and wouldn't really eat anything.

She's now 6 months and is definitely ready to try EVERYTHING she can get into her mouth! Lol!

You’ll make the best decision for your family I’m sure. For my family, having read the research, I felt the right decision for DC1 was blw at just over 6 months. Worked brilliantly - she is now a very adventurous unfussy toddler - and plan to do the same with DC2 in a few months time. You’ll know your baby best, but I am struggling to imagine a 4mo that is really ready. My DC2 is 3mo and absolutely nowhere near.

I would suggest waiting till months. You dont need to wean with risks or baby rice- I'm pretty sure it's just full if crap. Wait till 6 months and then just offer bits of what you are having.

There's a lot of reasons for NOT weaning before 6 months, head control, choking, digestive maturity and potential for allergic reactions are just some of them.

The latter is not true. There is some emerging (albeit inconclusive) evidence that "early" weaning (i.e. weaning between 17 and 26 weeks) reduces risks of allergies later in life. The only downside is the risk of minor diarrhoea. I remember reading lots of underlying research and making an informed decision to wean DD at 17 weeks. She is now 17 months and is a brilliant eater.

...waiting longer is no problem, food before 1 is for fun.

Sorry but this statement is plain wrong. According to WHO (page 22):

www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guiding_principles_compfeeding_breastfed.pdf

However, breast milk is relatively low in several minerals such as iron and zinc, even after accounting for bioavailability. At 9-11 months of age, for example, the proportion of the Recommended Nutrient Intake that needs to be supplied by complementary foods is 97% for iron, 86% for zinc, 81% for phosphorus, 76% for magnesium, 73% for sodium and 72% for calcium (Dewey, 2001).

Also, a recent study in Australia has shown a significant percentage of babies and toddlers are not getting sufficient iron (which is vital for cognitive development). I personally think the "food before one..." slogan has got something to do with it. It is not a statement you will hear from experienced health care professionals but, unfortunately, it gets overused in internet forums and in baby groups:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26571345

Our results showed that 32·6 % of infants and 18·6 % of toddlers had inadequate Fe intake.

@wintertravel1980 babies are not dependent on getting their nutrients solely from food until 1. That does not mean that they are in need of supplementing. My 8 month does not eat enough to fulfil her nutritional requirements but she gets that from her formula. If I was still ebf I would be giving her a nutritional supplement as advised.

...babies are not dependent on getting their nutrients solely from food until 1...

Of course, I fully agree with that. I have assumed the significance of milk before one is a known fact. However what tends to be forgotten these days is that for older babies (9-12 months) both milk and solid foods are equally important. Milk may still provide most calories and good fats but feeding is not just about calorific intake. Other essential nutrients (i.e. iron, zinc, etc) can only come from solid food.

I would only recommend iron supplementation as a last resort. Natural iron gets absorbed more easily while iron supplements may not. There is a different research showing that unabsorbed iron can have negative impact on cognitive development. In the ideal world, babies should have a balanced diet and get their iron from iron rich food (red meat, tofu, eggs, green vegetables, lentils, etc).

Rusks are just packed with sugar, I was suprised at the sugar levels in baby food, I presumed in the baby isle, food would be healthy and good for baby. But I couldn't be more wrong so I bake all my own, sorry I digress, I think it's best to wait until 6 months for baby stomach to be able to digest the foods properly ..we started at 6 months with mash or sweet potatoe mash